Circumventing the Constitution for National Security: An Analysis of the Evolution of the Foreign Intelligence Exception to the Fourth Amendment’s Warrant Requirement

Though few are even aware of its existence, the foreign intelligence exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement affects the lives of nearly every American. Recent leaks of top-­‐secret National Security Administration documents depict how the government has morphed the exception into a massive catch all that allows intelligence agencies to perform invasive searches without a warrant and in complete disregard of the Constitution. The foreign intelligence exception began as a narrow tool to shield sensitive national security investigations, but its application has reached an alarming breadth. This note explores the creation and expansion of the foreign intelligence exception, tracing its history from George Washington’s secret surveillance efforts during the Revolutionary War to the modern framework for warrantless intelligence surveillance created by the Patriot Act. The Supreme Court has long recognized the necessity of exceptions to the Fourth Amendment’s ordinarily strict warrant and probable cause requirements. However, this history illustrates the foreign intelligence exception’s glaring disregard for the protections afforded to all Americans by the Fourth Amendment

Structural and immunological studies of pertussis toxin: effect of toxoiding

A detoxified form of pertussis toxin (PT) is used as a component of acellular pertussis vaccines, to prevent whooping cough in children. In this study five commercial PT toxoids, and a series of formaldehyde-treated (0 - 1.00 %, w/v) native and non-toxic mutant PT (PT-9K/129G) preparations were analysed, to investigate the effects of detoxification on the structure and immunogenicity of PT. Native PT and a non-toxic mutant PT, compared using physico-chemical methods and molecular modelling, were found to be structurally comparable. Analysis of the PT toxoids demonstrated the variation in folding, conformation and subunit association induced by the different chemical methods of detoxification. A good murine IgG response to the toxoids was dependent on the maintenance of local structure such as the integrity of the protective SI epitope, but molecular aggregation did not appear to be detrimental. Sizing analysis of formaldehyde-treated mutant and native PT preparations, illustrated that both mutant and native PT molecules increased in size and heterogeneity, as a function of formaldehyde concentration. Immunoblotting of the formaldehydetreated preparations confirmed the presence of covalent inter-subunit cross-linking. Immunological analysis of formaldehyde-treated mutant PT preparations demonstrated that a small degree of aggregation may be beneficial for the immune response in mice, but that increasing amino acid modification, cross-linking and aggregation alters the type of immune response and causes a decrease in the neutralising antibodies. Toxicity assays demonstrated that formaldehyde detoxification of PT is due to modification of both the A- and the B-domain, and is subject to reversion. Evidence for antibody suppression and enhancement by different amounts of residual active PT was also obtained. The observations made here will help us to understand the complex relationships between antigen structure and immune response in vaccines containing PT

Fruit and Vegetable Availability, Nutrition Education and Access Amongst Food Pantries in California, Maine, Mississippi and South Dakota

This descriptive study explored the views of food pantry directors in four states regarding pantry fruit and vegetable stock and supply, nutrition education offered, and current practices and perceived barriers to providing access to food pantries to low-income individuals and families in need. This study examined these variables by surveying staff at the food pantries who have direct contact with the individuals and families who utilize the pantries. All survey responses were collected utilizing Qualtrics software and then analyzed in SPSS. There were 87 respondents from four different states, California, Maine, Mississippi, and South Dakota. The reporting for both fresh fruits and fresh vegetables was similar across states, with California and Maine having a higher supply of fresh produce. Mississippi and South Dakota reported that the percentage of their fresh fruits and vegetables was between 0-25% at all participating pantries, no pantries reported that their stock of fresh produce was over 25% in these two states. Overall, the largest need was for dark-green vegetables, 43% (n=37), red and orange vegetables, 46% (n=40) and fruit, 38% (n=33) reported an insufficient supply. The majority reported a sufficient supply of starchy vegetables, 70% (n=61) other vegetables, 60% (n=52) and legumes, beans and peas, 62% (n=54). There were multiple barriers reported across states that have made it challenging to provide individuals and families access to their pantry. The primary barriers in California, Maine and Mississippi were: limited staffing and volunteers, limited operating hours, and lack of transportation to the pantry. All pantries in this study reported taking steps to make it easier for clients to access their agency. Some of the ways they have done this is through expanding operating hours, increasing staff, providing information on public transportation to pantry clients, reducing the documentation requirements and providing delivery to home services. It is very apparent through this research that food pantries are aware of the challenges that both they and their clients face. The participating pantries in this study reported that they have made changes in order to better accommodate individuals and families in need

Exploratory Study of Documented Psychosocial Nursing Interventions within the Palliative Care Setting

Further research is needed to better understand issues related to the provision of psychosocial care at end-of-life (EOL). Nursing documentation provides an effective strategy for assessing quality of care. The objective was to assess the quality of documentation processes for EOL care and to identify the degree to which a process-based approach was utilized. A case study qualitative design was applied through a retrospective chart review of the Powerchart documentation database. The process-based framework set out in the Nursing Role Effectiveness Model (NREM) and a modified version of the Quality of Documentation of Nursing Diagnoses, Interventions and Outcomes (Q-DIO) instrument were utilized to guide data collection and analysis. The majority of nursing documentation was of poor quality and statistically significant differences were noted between Q-DIO subsections. This study showed that nurses working in a palliative care setting vary in their ability to complete accurate high quality documentation of psychosocial care

An interpretative phenomenological analysis of spousal carers' experiences of caring for their partner with a long-term, indwelling urinary catheter

This PdD thesis reports an idiographic study employing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the experiences of spousal carers when their partner has a long-term indwelling urinary catheter (LTIC). The aim was to inform and improve practice.The study was conducted in two parts. In Part I, six spousal carers were interviewed about their experiences when their partner had a LTIC. To further explore their adjusting to the device and to consider the wider impact of a catheter on their relationship, Part II consisted of three dyad case studies. The three 'cases' included LTIC users who had Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and their spousal carers.Findings revealed a continuum of adjusting, with setbacks influenced by external factors such as LTIC problems, poor communication and deterioration in both parties' health. The LTIC users increasingly needed their spouse's support with LTIC care over-time and this necessitated adjustments to their lifestyle. As part of these changes, relationships were renegotiated. Participants incorporated aspects of 'trade-off' within their lives as part of adjusting - what they were willing to adapt, concede or accept in order to adjust to their life now

A Metamodel for Crustal Magmatism: Phase Equilibria of Giant Ignimbrites

Diverse explanations exist for the large-volume catastrophic eruptions that formed the Bishop Tuff of Long Valley in eastern California, the Bandelier Tuff in New Mexico, and the tuffs of Yellowstone, Montana, USA. These eruptions are among the largest on Earth within the last 2 Myr. A common factor in recently proposed petrogenetic scenarios for each system is multistage processing, in which a crystal mush forms by crystal fractionation and is then remobilized to liberate high-silica liquids. Magma evolves in the lower crust in earlier phases. We have tested these scenarios quantitatively by performing phase equilibria calculations (MELTS) and comparing the results with observed liquid (glass) and phenocryst compositions. Although comparison of tuff samples from each ignimbrite reveals distinct phenocryst compositions and proportions, the computed results exhibit a remarkable degree of congruity among the systems, pointing to some underlying uniform behavior relevant to large-volume silicic ignimbrites. Computed liquid compositions derived from more than ∼25% fractional crystallization of the parental melt in the deep crust are marked by SiO2 concentrations several weight per cent too low compared with the observed compositions, suggesting a limit on the extent of magma evolution by crystal fractionation in the deep crust. In all cases, the phase equilibria results and related considerations point to evolution dominated by crystal fractionation of a water-saturated mafic parental melt at shallow depths (∼5 km). Parental melt compositions are consistent with those of observed regional primitive basalts erupted prior to ignimbrite eruption for each system in each region. Fractional crystallization of water-rich mafic melt at shallow levels leads inherently to destabilization near thermodynamic pseudoinvariant points at around 800°C within the melting interval close to, but above, the solidus. For each system, the magmas evolve to states of high exsolved H2O volume fraction even at 5 km depth, eventually exceeding the criterion for magma fragmentation of ∼60 vol. % near the pseudoinvariant point temperature. Copious exsolution and possible expulsion of fluid occurs at this temperature, where the solid fraction in the magma changes almost discontinuously (isothermally) to significantly higher values. This instability mechanism acts as an eruption trigger by generating a gravitationally unstable arrangement of low-density, water-saturated magma beneath a thin (several kilometres) crustal lid. The trigger mechanism is common to fractional crystallization scenarios based on a variety of conditions, when crystallized solids and/or exsolved fluids are fractionated from residual melt isobarically (constant pressure) or isochorically (constant volume). In a single system, differences in liquid compositions resulting from constant volume versus constant pressure crystallization and expulsion versus retention of exsolved H2O are small compared with those arising from variations in initial water concentration, lithostatic pressure, and oxygen fugacity. It is these latter quantities that lie at the crux of the commonality in large-volume ignimbrite-forming eruptions, with a reasonable range of metamodel parameters. Scale analysis provides thermal timescales for fractional crystallization, including age ranges for discrete crystal populations. For the Bishop Tuff, the overall timescale for the Bishop magma body is >1 Myr. For the Yellowstone Tuffs, calculated thermal timescales are consistent with recurrence intervals of ∼600 kyr between successive caldera collapses. Although it is recognized that petrogenetic processes other than perfect fractional crystallization play a role in ignimbrite petrogenesis, by emphasizing common features the uniqueness of each system can be brought into better focus by sound and quantitative analysi

Practical Toolkit For Embedding Ethics In The Engineering Curriculum

The need to embed ethics into the engineering curriculum is a collective imperative if we are to successfully navigate complexity, uncertainty and challenging ethical issues to build a sustainable society that works for everyone. To maximise positive impact, behaviours such as inclusivity and sustainability must become instinctive – golden threads running through everything that engineers think and do. Proactively, bringing engineering ethics to the fore in engineering programmes is one way UK higher education equips future engineers with the skills and mindset they need to succeed. This workshop brings together best practice from expert practitioners across the UK, introducing a nationally curated ‘Engineering Ethics Toolkit’. To help educators to know and use the toolkit the workshop offered an attractive translation of engineering ethics teaching theory to the practice of engineering education. In this workshop, participants were introduced to a pragmatic approach to integrating ethics content into their teaching, using examples and a detailed and interactive curriculum map, which connects the elements of the toolkit. Our aim is to ensure the toolkit becomes an ongoing, regular component of engineering teaching and highlighting excellence in integrating ethics. The workshop was as a seed to encourage further case studies to be developed and to also explore what can yet be done in this space to ensure the next generation of engineers are well-equipped to address the ethical issues they face